Vehicle occupant support

ABSTRACT

A system of air cushions adapted to ensconce the head of an occupant in a child seat during side impact, extendable to a system of air cushions with sacrificial chamber to inflate the aircushions.

EACH OF THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED HEREIN BYREFERENCE

This application is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 14/600,932 filedJan. 20, 2015 which is a continuation in part of: Ser. No. 13/138,183filed Jan. 28, 2010 and Ser. No. 13/507,149 filed Jun. 9, 2012.

Both Ser. No. 13/138,183 filed Jan. 28, 2010 and Ser. No. 13/507,149filed Jun. 9, 2012 are continuations in part of Ser. No. 11/185,784filed Jul. 21, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,020,658 issued Sep. 20, 2011.

Ser. No. 13/507,149 filed Jun. 9, 2012 is also a continuation in part ofSer. No. 11/639,088 filed Dec. 14, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,251,444Issued Aug. 28, 2012, claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/751,305filed Dec. 17, 2006, 60/928,040 filed May 7, 2007, 60/848,804 filed Sep.29, 2006 and 60/849,658 filed Oct. 5, 2006.

Ser. No. 13/507,149 filed Jun. 9, 2012 is also a continuation in part ofSer. No. 11/113,028 filed Apr. 25, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,138,908Issued Mar. 20, 2012.

Ser. No. 11/185,784 filed Jul. 21, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,020,658issued Sep. 20, 2011 is a continuation of: Ser. No. 10/681,304 filedOct. 9, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221; Ser. No. 09/779,594 filed Feb.9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389; and Ser. No. 10/109,674 filed Apr.1, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923. U.S. Pat. No. 8,020,658 also claimspriority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filed Nov. 7, 2000 now EPPatent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260 filed Sep. 17, 1998now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221 is a divisional of Ser. No. 09/779,592 filedFeb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,833. U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221 isalso a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No. 10/279,171 filed Oct. 24, 2002now U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,416. U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221 also claimspriority to: Ser. No. 09/779,594 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No.7,255,389; and Ser. No. 09/779,593 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No.6,715,816. U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221 also claims priority to: EPApplication No. 00203896 filed Nov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607;and EP Application No. 98948260 filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No.1021320. U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,221 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser.Nos. 60,195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000; 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000;60/280,470 filed Apr. 2, 2001; 60/282,105 filed Apr. 9, 2001; 60/286,629filed Apr. 26, 2001; 60/332,419 filed Nov. 14, 2001; 60/338,466 filedDec. 3, 2001; 60/367,644 filed Feb. 20, 2002; 60/362,450 filed Mar. 8,2002; and 60/461,434 filed Apr. 10, 2003.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389 is a continuation in-part of: Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354; Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; and Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749. U.S. Pat. No.7,255,389 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320. U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000;and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/779,591 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,754; Ser. No.09/779,592 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,833; Ser. No.09/779,594 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; and Ser. No.09/779,593 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,816. U.S. Pat. No.7,159,923 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320. U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000;60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000; 60/280,470 filed Apr. 2, 2001;60/282,105 filed Apr. 9, 2001; 60/286,629 filed Apr. 26, 2001;60/332,419 filed Nov. 14, 2001; 60/338,466 filed Dec. 3, 2001;60/367,644 filed Feb. 20, 2002; and 60/362,450 filed Mar. 8, 2002.

EP Application No. 00203896 claims priority to: Ser. No. 09/435,830filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Prov. Ser. Nos.60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000.

EP Application No. 98948260 claims priority to Ser. No. 08/936,626 filedSep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,416 is a divisional of: Ser. No. 09/404,475 filedSep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; and Ser. No. 09/435,830 filedNov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749. U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,416 alsoclaims priority to: Ser. No. 08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S.Pat. No. 6,059,354; Ser. No. 09/779,594 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat.No. 7,255,389; and Ser. No. 10/109,674 filed Apr. 1, 2002 now U.S. Pat.No. 7,159,923.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315 is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/936,626 filedSep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749 is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/936,626filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,754 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,609,754 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,609,754 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,833 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,742,833 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,742,833 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,816 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,715,816 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,715,816 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

Ser. No. 11/113,028 filed Apr. 25, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,138,908Issued Mar. 20, 2012 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No. 09/779,594filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389; and Ser. No. 10/109,674filed Apr. 1, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923. This application alsoclaims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filed Nov. 7, 2000 nowEP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260 filed Sep. 17,1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389 is a continuation in-part of: Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354; Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; and Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749. U.S. Pat. No.7,255,389 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320. U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000;and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/779,591 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,754; Ser. No.09/779,592 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,833; Ser. No.09/779,594 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,389; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; and Ser. No.09/779,593 filed Feb. 9, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,816. U.S. Pat. No.7,159,923 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320. U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,923also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000;60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000; 60/280,470 filed Apr. 2, 2001;60/282,105 filed Apr. 9, 2001; 60/286,629 filed Apr. 26, 2001;60/332,419 filed Nov. 14, 2001; 60/338,466 filed Dec. 3, 2001;60/367,644 filed Feb. 20, 2002; and 60/362,450 filed Mar. 8, 2002.

EP Application No. 00203896 claims priority to: Ser. No. 09/435,830filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Prov. Ser. Nos.60/195,298 filed Apr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000.

EP Application No. 98948260 claims priority to Ser. No. 08/936,626 filedSep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315 is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/936,626 filedSep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749 is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/936,626filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,754 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,609,754 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,609,754 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,833 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,742,833 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,742,833 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,816 is a continuation-in-part of: Ser. No.09/404,475 filed Sep. 24, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,315; Ser. No.09/435,830 filed Nov. 8, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,749; and Ser. No.08/936,626 filed Sep. 24, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,354. U.S. Pat.No. 6,715,816 also claims priority to: Prov. Ser. Nos. 60/195,298 filedApr. 10, 2000 and 60/226,570 filed Aug. 21, 2000. U.S. Pat. No.6,715,816 also claims priority to: EP Application No. 00203896 filedNov. 7, 2000 now EP Patent No. 1099607; and EP Application No. 98948260filed Sep. 17, 1998 now EP Patent No. 1021320.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A MICRO FICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

The present invention defines a means to incorporate in passenger motorvehicles, unique safety arrangements particularly for lateral or sideimpacts that provide energy absorption by the mass of the vehicle butdecouple the passenger from the impact acceleration and decelerationthat is provided by the mass of the vehicle, thereby protecting thepassengers during such collisions. Moreover, the same arrangementsynergistically provides utility in access, comfort and further safetyin the operating position for passengers and the driver.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the past safety of passengers was not always the priority inpassenger vehicle design. In the evolution of motor vehicle design thestructure moved from a chassis that held together the mechanicalcomponents of the vehicle—a structure that was then attached to apassenger compartment or to passenger seats. The design of the structurewas to hold together the working components of the vehicle—a criticalaspect at the time. Thereafter in more recent times right up to thepresent, Exo-skeletal designs have been the dominant paradigm. Hererigid shells were constructed to hold both the mechanical components andthe passengers in fixed positions. However such fixed shell structureshave had limited success in protecting passengers and drivers when thereare lateral collisions as passengers undergo the same impact relatedaccelerations and decelerations as the remaining parts of the vehicle,as space limitations don't allow for “crumple zones” as in the case ofimpact protection for head on collisions. Passengers are particularlyvulnerable to side impacts as they cannot take preemptive measures aswith head-on collisions where there is speed control and directionalcontrol that is available. As vehicle speeds have increasedsubstantially in the last several decades, these safety considerationsfor passengers have become critical and urgent. Vehicledesigners—particularly automobile designers—have risen admirably to thetask by incorporating myriads of devices and additions within the rigidshell paradigm to minimize risk in the event of collisions. Such devicesinclude restraints such as seat belts and certain types of protectiveair bags. However, there are limits within the rigid shell paradigm fortwo reasons: First, the energy of impact cannot be easily diverted awayfrom passengers into the remaining mass of the vehicle on impact.Second, the rigid shell needs to support high shear stresses on lateralimpact and related compressive loads to the passenger compartment of thevehicle a factor that can only be addressed with greater mass of thevehicle that will impact its performance.

Another area of interest in passenger vehicles is to provide, in synergywith the above contributions, utility and comfort of passengers anddrivers and further synergistic head-on collision protection.

There are four areas of Background art that are related to the presentinvention. These are: vehicles with sliding seats, safety arrangementsaddressing lateral impacts on passenger vehicles, air bags and othershock absorbing devices, and miscellaneous safety devices for frontalimpacts. None of the inventions in these areas individually orcollectively state or imply any aspects of the present invention.Moreover, none of this Background art even addresses the issue of energytransfer away from the passengers to the mass of the vehicle on impactand concurrently provide a mechanism for easy access to the vehicle withejector seats. This is despite the urgent need in the car industry forsuch safety and utility. Moreover the novelty of the present inventionis underscored as it provides solutions hitherto unidentified in a verylarge and competitive industry that is acutely aware of these needs andis constantly in search of new solutions to them.

Sloan U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,407 (1963) describes a single rear bench seat(lines 4-45)—full length (C1-L55), that can slide out of either side ofthe vehicle. It describes a door structure that may be attached to theseat and slide across and through the passenger compartment of thevehicle as the seat slides out. This invention does not state or implyany safety considerations in its structure, moreover such a bench seaton slides, in the event of a lateral collision on the doors will focusthe impact energy on the passengers and these passengers will be theprincipal casualties as the mass of the vehicle slides away littleharmed. This will be the case even in the embodiment described where thedoors are fixed to the seat and slides through the passenger compartmentwith the seat. Moreover, it cannot be used in a front seat even for itslimited functionality with doors fixed to the seat as drivinginstrumentation (steering wheel etc) will not allow a door to slidethrough the compartment. Finally it does not provide any comfortfeatures for passengers over and above a bench seat. Mach U.S. Pat. No.2,753,947 (1956) describes a sliding bench seat for the access of theengine of the vehicle it does not address the issue of safety ofpassengers or access utility. It is expected to perform similarly toSloan in an impact on the doors or around the side profile of thepassengers in the vehicle. Solomon U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,872 (1953)provides a sliding bench seat that goes through the doorway and for thesame reasons as Sloan does not provide protection in side impacts orprovide any comfort features over and above a bench seat. Cyphert U.S.Pat. No. 3,944,277 (1976) describes a seat mounted on a sliding platformthat has a door at the end and protective walls around it. Thearrangement being designed for the utility of the operator to reachpoints away from the body of the vehicle without dismounting thevehicle. This invention like Sloan does not state or imply any safetyconsiderations in its use. Moreover there is no expressed or impliedreference to the utility of mounting and dismounting the vehicle or forthe comfort of the operator or the passengers except for the ability forthe platform to move out to give the operator greater reach away fromthe vehicle body. Rees U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,300 (1993) describes internaldesign structure for slide arrangements that allow forward and backwardmovement of the passenger seats in vehicles. This like many otherinventions prior to it relate to the structure of the slides to adjustthe position of the seats for passenger comfort in the direction ofmotion of the vehicle.

All the above items of background art relate to sliding seats. None ofthe above background art related to sliding seats have stated or impliedsafety considerations. Moreover, none of them provide utility formounting and dismounting a vehicle except for a bench seat that slidesout on either side of the vehicle, or provide comfort features exceptfor seating arrangement on a bench seat and in one of the above—thelateral movement for convenience of the operator.

Maier U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,950 (1939) provides a laterally bracedpassenger compartment that braces a rigid shell body of a vehicle.Barenyi U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,222 (1955) provides a stiffening for thebottom plate of a vehicle body. Catlin U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,428 (1997)provides a design for a rigid shell structure. Guertler U.S. Pat. No.5,464,266 (1995) uses stiffening arrangements for the floor of thevehicle as a component of a rigid shell vehicle body. Masuda U.S. Pat.No. 5,671,968 (1968) describes a strengthened rigid shell for thepassenger compartment Oliver U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,172 (1985) describes athree part rigid shell structure for motor vehicles with the centralsection for passengers Sinnhuber U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,509 (1991)describes an arrangement that transfers impact energy from lateralimpacts to the rigid body of the vehicle but does so through rigidmembers that include elements in the seats. The seats have limitedlateral movement and are not free to move independent of the vehiclebody in the event of a collision, thereby placing the passengers on thedirect path of the energy transfer Maeda U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,604 (1985)describes a lateral brace for the seat arrangement of the vehicle withina rigid vehicle body structure thereby distributing the impact energy toother parts of the rigid body structure. Sacco U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,618(1995) describes a lateral stiffening element that braces the rigidvehicle body in the region of the seats. Bhalsod U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,094(1998) describes a pusher block that engages the seat in the event of alateral impact thereby providing a rigid member between the rigid bodystructure and the seats that can transfer impact energy to the seats.

All of the above items of background art related to bracing a rigid bodystructure and provide stiffening mechanisms within the rigid shellstructure to distribute energy of lateral impact. None of these items ofbackground art provide mechanisms to transfer energy away frompassengers in lateral impacts, or provide other safety arrangements orprovide utility for mounting and dismounting the vehicle or providecomfort features for passengers in the operating position.

Baber U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,265 (1998) presents airbags for front and rearvehicle bumpers that deploy on impact. Such devices cannot beimplemented on the side of the vehicle as a deceleration zone is notavailable under operating conditions as may be made available in thefront and back of the vehicle. Moreover, as this airbag deploys onimpact it creates a deceleration zone by pushing its own vehicle awaythat may actually increase the impulse forces acting on the passengers.Mercier U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,076 (1974) describers similar external frontand back airbags and uses probes that protrude from the vehicle at thefront and back to deploy the airbags. Such apparatus cannot be installedon the sides of the vehicle, as clearances are small. Stirling U.S. Pat.No. 5,131,703 (1992) describes a fluid filled chamber around the vehiclethat will provide a deceleration zone on impact—frontal rear or lateral.However this arrangement requires the deceleration zone to be presentduring normal operating conditions that will reduce the maneuverabilityof vehicles if deployed on the sides of the vehicle. Park U.S. Pat. No.4,995,659 (1991) describes a gas filled chamber deployed around thevehicle. Such a chamber is normally inflated under normal conditions andreduces maneuverability of the vehicle. Campbell U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,777(1989) describes a bumper that can be deployed selectively by fillingwith gas. This bumper is effective when extended only. It is notdesigned to be deployed when the vehicle is in motion, as it will reducemaneuverability. Hartmann U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,427 (1998) describes amechanism that transfers fluid from one airbag to another on impact. Theairbag that is deployed is normally in an extended position to absorbthe impact energy and provide the deceleration zone. However, such anextended airbag will reduce the maneuverability of the vehicle. There isa literature (“Extended Bumper and Glass-Plastic glazing methods toreduce intrusion and ejection in severe motor vehicle crashes”. C. C.Clark 1993. 26th Symposium on Automotive Technology and Automation.Aachen Germany., “Airbag bumpers inflated just before the crash” C. C.Clark., William A. Young. 1994. SAE Technical Paper 941051., “The crashanticipating extended airbag bumper system”. C. C. Clark. 1994.Fourteenth International Technical Conference on the enhanced safety ofvehicles. Munich Germany., “Airbags as a means to reduce crash loads andintrusion, and increase intervehicular compatibility.” C. C. Clark.1995. International Conference on Pelvic and Lower extremityinjuries-Proceedings Washington D.C., Human Transportation Fatalitiesand Protection against Rear and Side Crash Loads by the AirstopRestraint” Carl Clark and Carl Blechschmidt. 1965. The Ninth Stapp CarConference.) IDS, and background art on the construction of externalairbags including deployment proactively with radar or other devices.This entire literature is limited to the use of proactive externalairbags mounted on vehicles with rigid structures that include thepassenger. There is no reference in this literature to the proactivedetection of impact explicitly or implicitly creating a decelerationzone for passenger protection internally, relative to the vehicle as inthe present invention. Moreover, this literature is focussed on externalairbags for front impact protection with for example rigid penetrationbuffers to negotiate posts and trees, unlike the present invention whichdoes not prescribe external airbags for front impacts. Furthermore, asthis literature describes external airbags without perforation shieldstheir implementability is questionable as, unlike internal airbags thatare in relatively protected environments, impact with external airbagsoften occurs with objects with sharp points and edges that are likely toperforate the external airbags. The Present invention requiresperforation shields for external airbags.

All the above items of background art relate to air bag devices forsafety in vehicles. However, none of these references take theintegrated approach of the present invention, as more fully explainedbelow, which comprises proactive deployment of both internal andexternal air bags, together with sliding seat members and other devices.Moreover while the present invention can function even without thedeployment of external airbags, either proactive or reactive, takentogether these items provide protection for passengers which is morethan the sum of the parts. Furthermore, none of the protection airbagsdisclosed, related to external air bags having protective perforationshields that further enhance their efficacy. Moreover none of thesedevices provide energy transferring mechanisms away from the passengerin a lateral impact or provide other safety features. Moreover they donot provide any utility features for passengers in mounting anddismounting the vehicle or provide comfort features to the passengers.

Perras U.S. Pat. No. 2,873,122 (1959) which describes an invention whereupon a head-on collision the seat projects a curved protector around thepassenger designed to protect the passenger. This curved protectorretracts into the seat under normal operating conditions. It is notclear how effective such a mechanism will be as the acceleration of thepassenger forward relative to the vehicle may precede that of curvedprotector's release from the seat. Satzinger U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,805(1976) describes seat belts for frontal collisions that provide safetyfor vehicles. Such seat belts are in common use. However, they sufferfrom the drawback that they restrain the body of the passenger in thenarrow regions covered by such belts which may cause injury as otherparts of the body are not restrained. Moreover such belts are notpopular, while in common use as the belts are in constant contact withthe body—a factor that is not often relished. Pulling U.S. Pat. No.3,981,520 (1976) describes an arrangement where that provides passengermovement and protection in frontal impacts. On impact the passengermoves in the vertical plane of motion to a more protected position whileside firing airbags provide frontal protection. This system ofdeployment of airbags for frontal collision protection is similar toother frontal airbag systems. They are necessary as restraining systemsduring the collision but need to be retracted in conventional passengercompartments to give passengers access to their seats while mounting anddismounting the vehicle. Erickson U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,531 (1957)describes an invention that rotates the seat of the passenger therebyrestraining and protecting the passenger on impact taking advantage ofthe inertia prior to impact to endow the passenger with rotationalenergy that changes the position of the seat. Such rotation can injurethe passenger with impacts at present day passenger vehicle speeds.

All the above items of background art relate to frontal impactprotection. None of these items provide a device that is normallydeployed during operation, and provides a broad area of restraint acrossthe body for the entire upper body, head and neck, without a need forchanging the orientation of the passenger. Moreover none of these itemsprovide any protection for side impacts or provide utility for mountingand dismounting the vehicle or for the comfort of the passengers in theoperating position.

SUMMARY

In view of these prior references what would be useful is an arrangementthat diverts the impact energy in lateral or side impacts away from thepassengers to the remaining mass of the vehicle thereby protecting thepassengers, and in the same arrangement provides utilitarian access tothe vehicle, such utilitarian access making it possible to both installmulti-element contoured surround seats for passengers and the driver,and also a safety device for head-on collision protection that obviatesthe need for conventional seat belts and front impact airbags. Moreover,it would be useful to have a synergistic structural arrangement for thevehicle that targets strength of the vehicle to protect passengers whileminimizing other massive elements in the vehicle.

The present invention includes these objects and advantages.

OBJECTS & ADVANTAGES

Some of the objects and advantages of the present invention are, toprovide an arrangement that diverts the impact energy in lateral or sideimpacts away from the passengers to the remaining mass of the vehiclethereby protecting the passengers but decelerating the impacting objectwith the remaining mass of the vehicle. Moreover the arrangementsynergistically provides a means for utilitarian easy access to thevehicle for passengers and drivers alike and allows the installation ofmulti-element surround contoured seats for the comfort and protection ofpassengers. This arrangement differs sharply from the Background art inthat it does not simply offer to the impacting body a reinforced rigidshell where the passenger is treated as part of this integral unit, butrather provides selective and differential treatment of the mass of thepassengers and driver of the vehicle vis-a-vis the remaining mass of thevehicle. Furthermore the present invention differs sharply from theBackground art in that the resulting structure synergistically permitsthe installation of contoured multi-element surround seats and a uniquesafety harness that protects passengers in head-on collisions, both ofwhich may not be implementable without the slide or other movingarrangements for seats on either side of the vehicle in the presentinvention.

Another object and Advantage of the present invention is the gravityslide drive and a related shock absorbing arrangement relative to thefixed body members of the vehicle ad the terrain traversed by thevehicle, for my arrangement for which there is no counterpart in theBackground art. This allows further Utility and weight and energy savingin implementing the above elements of the present invention.

Another Object and Advantage of the present invention includes Externalside Airbags that differ sharply from the Background art in that for thefirst time they proactively create a “Just in Time” deceleration zoneboth for the passenger relative to the vehicle and also for the vehiclerelative to the impacting body, for the lateral or side impact while notremaining in an extended position under normal operating conditions ofthe vehicle.

Another Object and advantage of this invention is a perforationresistant shield for external airbag protection that would reduce theprobability of deployment failure. The background art does not providefor this function in externally deploying airbags.

Another object and advantage of the present invention is a indo-skeletalstructure of the vehicle body that permits the energy transfer from thelateral or side impact through compressive members to the body of thevehicle. Unlike the Background art this indo-skeletal structure isdesigned to transfer energy to the body of the vehicle withouttransferring it to the passengers and driver of the vehicle. Thepassengers are targeted for protection with “Safety zones”.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a front elevation of a seating arrangementsin a passenger vehicle. This figure is an illustration of the inventionin the normal vehicle operating condition. The impacting body isrepresented on the left as still distant but advancing towards the abovepassenger vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the same vehicle arrangement as in FIG. 1,except that the impacting object has advanced towards the passengervehicle adequately to trigger the distance and velocity sensors.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the same vehicle as in FIGS. 1 and 2,except that the distance and velocity sensors have deployed the externalAirbags. They may also provide delayed deployment of the internalAirbags.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the same vehicle as in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3except that the impacting object has made impact with deceleration andenergy absorption provided by the External airbags and the shockabsorbers and resisted by the mass of the vehicle through compressionmembers as noted below. The Passengers and seats are free to move awayfrom the impact on the secondary slides as the internal Airbag deploys,pushing out the Primary slide on the side away from the impact.

FIGS. 1D, 2D, 3D and 4D illustrate an alternative embodiment with theshock absorbers mounted internal to the protector shield.

FIGS. 1C, 2C, 3C and 4C illustrate an alternative embodiment that has anauxiliary beam mounted behind the seat with a high section of thecentral member of the skeletal structure behind the seat to abut theauxiliary beam.

FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B and 4B illustrate an alternative embodiment with acenter console.

FIGS. 1F, 2F, 3F and 4F illustrate an alternative embodiment with acenter console that is crushable (an element of “crushable elements”)and as a result decreases the need for the ejection of the passenger onthe further side of the vehicle at impact.

FIGS. 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G illustrate an alternative embodiment with centerairbags (also an element of “crushable elements”) that are a part of apassive airbag system to protect passengers during lateral impact byabsorbing some of the impact energy but more importantly providing ameans to inflate head and neck protection airbags and other anatomicalmicro cushions mounted in the vicinity of the human body. Thisparticular embodiment has a crushable center console as well.

FIGS. 5 and 6 is an illustration of the seating arrangement as used forloading and unloading passengers and driver.

FIG. 5 represents the open position and

FIG. 6 represents the closed position.

FIGS. 5A and 6A illustrate an embodiment of the current invention withthe protector shield/shock absorbers/external airbag hinging down tosupport the primary slide. A useful feature for larger vehicles withmore than a single seat on each side.

FIGS. 7-9 is an illustration of the Gravity slide drive that may beembodied in the invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the Gravity Slide drive at the end of theunload cycle for passengers.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the Gravity slide drive at the beginning ofthe Load cycle for passengers.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the left side loaded and ready foroperation of the vehicle and the right side at the start of the loadingoperation, emphasizing the independence of the two sides of the Gravityslide drive mechanism.

FIGS. 10A and B are an illustration of Isometric views of the presentinvention on one side of the vehicle for clarity. FIG. 10C is anillustration of a Plan view of the present invention for one side of thevehicle.

FIGS. 10A1, 10B1 are isometric views of an alternative embodiment with avertical extension/“safety cage” to protect passengers further. FIG.10C1 is a plan view of the same arrangement.

FIG. 11. is an illustration of the position of the “Safety Zones” thatare targeted for protection with the Protector shields.

FIG. 12A is an illustration of an isometric view of the Seatarrangement. FIGS. 12B and 12C is an illustration of the Plan and SideElevation of the seat arrangement. FIG. 12A1 illustrates an alternativeembodiment of the seat arrangement. FIGS. 12B1 and 12C1 illustrate theplan and elevation of this embodiment. FIG. 12D1 illustrates anembodiment of the child seat with scaled harness of 12A1 in anembodiment of the adult seat. FIG. 12 D2 illustrates an embodiment ofthe child seat with corresponding scaled harness of 15A-C and 16 A-C inthe embodiment of the adult seat. FIG. 12 D3 illustrates an embodimentof the child seat with conventional supports for the headrest. FIG. 12D3A shows an adjustable headrest. FIG. 12E1 illustrates an embodimentwith a different external profile for the seat providing greaterprotection to the passenger. FIGS. 12F2 and 12G2 illustrate isometricviews of an embodiment of the safety harness and 12H2, 12I2, 12J2illustrate an isometric view of another embodiment of the safetyharness, in the normal state, with front impact anatomical passive microaircushions deployed, and the head and neck anatomical micro aircushions deployed respectively. FIG. 12 H3 illustrates the venting andfilling materials of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13. is an illustration of a drawing of isometric view of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates a horizontal cross section of an embodiment of thepresent invention at the level of the upper primary slides.

FIG. 15A illustrates a side impact with internal and external airbagsdeployed and the passengers ejected away from the impact.

FIG. 15B illustrates the deployment of the anatomical passive microaircushions in a front impact and the passenger impact protection withthe harness and shield. The left side passenger illustrates the normalposition for reference.

FIG. 15C illustrates a detailed view of the safety harness and itscomponents.

FIG. 16A illustrates a passenger ready to leave the vehicle. The safetyharness/shield is still in place.

FIG. 16B shows the passenger in FIG. 16A after releasing the safetyharness/shield from the locks.

FIG. 16C shows the same passenger in 16A,B but with the safetyharness/shield now well above the head so that the passengers leave thevehicle by simply standing up.

FIG. 16D shows the passenger with the safety harness shield raised.

FIGS. 17A,B show a schematic diagram of the passive air cushion systemdisclosed in this invention.

FIGS. 18a-18k : FIG. 18a , shows a head rest that in this embodiment hasa harness mount also attached. This embodiment is enabled to slide upand down to accommodate a growing child.

FIG. 18b , Aircushions for the head rest shown on their own. The primaryvents in this embodiment are shown at the bottom of each cushion. Aircushions may be fully or partially filled with porous materials. Taperedsections near the vents may also have venturi action ports to suck innew air to moderate and control evacuation.

FIG. 18c , Shows an embodiment of an integrated headrest and shoulderguard that is able to slide up and down on the CRS thereby allowingheight adjustment of these elements as the child grows. Multiple sets ofSacrificial airbags and micro aircushions are possible. In thisembodiment for example additional micro air cushions can be placed belowthe one in the figure and the, sacrificial airbag above the one shown inthe figure.

FIG. 18d , shows the single set of sacrificial airbags on the shouldersupport and the corresponding aircushion on the head rest.

FIG. 18e , shows another embodiment of the headrest/shoulder guard withair cushions and sacrificial airbags.

FIG. 18f shows the same aircushion/sacrificial airbag system of FIG.6-5. The air ducts lead to the top of the aircushions and theaircushions vent at their bottom.

Airduct extends in this embodiment to top of micro air cushion. (Otherembodiments may have lead ins elsewhere). So that on head impact theedge on the perimeter of the headrest ensconces the head as theaircushion deflated through the primary vent at the bottom; There may besecondary vents anywhere on the air cushions and the skin of theaircushions may be porous as well. The air cushions may be filled orpartially filled with porous material FIG. 18g , shows a method forconstruction of the air cushions and/or sacrificial airbags. The figshows the aircushions/airbags filled partially or fully with a porousmaterial that forms the shape.

Aircushion interiors may be fully or partially filled with porousmaterials. For manufacture; these maybe cutouts that are sandwichedbetween the skin material which then. gets compressed in the placeswhere the weld will occur. Alternatively, a sheet of the porous materialcan be sandwiched between the skin layers with the porous materialchosen so that it compresses and welds with the skin at points where thecompression/heat dies contact the sandwiched layers. This will avoid theneed for prior layup of the cutouts of the porous material. Compressionand or heat welded sections of the cover material separates theaircushion and/or sacrificial chamber sections.

FIG. 18h shows an aircushion with cutouts to show the foam filling.

FIGS. 18i, 18j and 18k show a different embodiment of the seat showingthe pillow pads and harness.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

101—Central Member of Indo-skeletal structure 102—Safety Beam LowerElement/Lower Primary Slide 103—Side impact shock absorbers 104—ExternalAir Bags 105—Perforation Shields 106—Protector Shields 107—Safety BeamUpper Element/Upper Primary Slide 108—Auxiliary Beam.(fixed or sliding)109—Multi-element contoured passenger seat 110—Vehicle Shell/Body111—Secondary Slides/Impact decouplers 112—Locking devices 112 A—Pivotfor Protector shield 113—Proactive Velocity/Distance Detectors114—Internal side impact airbag 115—Spring device for manual slide116—Inside door open button 117—outside door open button 118—Beam pivotfor Gravity slide drive ejector 119—Safety Harness 120—Support forSafety Harness 121—Bottom of seating surface of the contoured seat122—Contoured arm rests 123—Child seat attachment 124—Impacting body125—Vertical extensions/Safety Cage (fixed or sliding) 126—Centerconsole 127—Secondary slide/Center console locks 128—Instrumentation129—Center airbags-energy absorption/passive head and neck anatomicalairbag system 130—Safety Harness Shield 131—Safety Harness—Anatomicalpassive micro air cushion and visco-elastic buffer 132—Safety Harnesselbow 133—Safety Harness extending upper arm 134—Safety Harness Pivotinglower arm 135—Safety Harness Head and neck anatomical micro aircushions(active or passive) 136—Safety Harness Adjustable Head restraint137—Safety Harness Hinged support 138—Safety Harness Locking Support139—Safety Harness passive micro aircushion air reservoir 140—AdjustableHinge support on seat 141—Foot rest 142—Sacrificial chamber 143—Microair-cushion—displacement function 144—Micro air cushion—support function145—Valves—air flow/fluid flow 146—protected entity 147—Fluid paths501—Safety zone 502—lateral support element 503—reinforced seat side504—left support adjustable multi-element 505—right support adjustablemulti-element 506—back support adjustable multi-element 507—bottomsupport adjustable multi-element 510—Reinforcing—Safety beam upperelement 511—Reinforcing—Safety Beam Lower Element 512—Anchor BracingBracket 513—Passenger Protection Detectors 514—Net Strature for Harness515—Frame for Net Structure for Harness 516—Retractable Canopy 600—AirCushions, 601—Headrest with pillow pads, 603—Primary Vents locatedtowards back and bottom of headrest for differential resistance,604—Airduct to micro air cushion, 605—Head micro aircushion,606—Shoulder sacrificial airbag, 607—Shoulder support part of movablehead shoulder assembly, 608—Embodiment of air cushion with sacrificialchamber, 609—compression and heat welded sections, 610—aircushioninteriors, 611—Foam or hex-cell filling of aircushions, 612—Harness—leftand right part separable and detachably attached, 613—Child seat side,614—Child seat bottom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a passenger vehicle a structure thatsynergistically incorporates two functions. First, during lateral orside impacts, a means to decouple from impact, and protect passengerswhile projecting the remaining mass of the vehicle to decelerate theimpacting body, and second, utility to passengers and drivers, inmounting and dismounting the vehicle with the comfort of contouredsurround seats. The arrangement may in some embodiments use anindo-skeletal beam that allows such embodiments to rely on compressiveforce transmission to transfer impact energy to the mass of the vehiclerather than shear loads that are required in the shell paradigm ofconstruction in most current passenger vehicles.

The present invention may use Primary and Secondary slides on each sideof the vehicle, to meet these objectives. The Primary slide has amongother attached devices, a protector shield that bears the impact forcein lateral or side impacts. Such protector shields may be hinged out foraccess if the sliding arrangement is not used. The Primary Slide mayengage a central indo-skeletal beam in some embodiments. The Secondaryslide is attached among other devices to possibly contoured surroundseats (the passenger support mechanisms). This slide may be activatedunder impact to guide passengers in their seats away from the impactzone.

The present invention may utilize a Safety Beam in the vicinity of theseats. However, there is an important advance over the Background art inthat the Beam does not lock the passengers on the path of the energytransfer, but rather, conducts the energy of impact away from thepassenger to the indo-skeletal frame or to the body members of the shell(collectively elements of the fixed body members) and thereby to themass of the vehicle (the massive components of the vehicle such as butnot without limitation the motor and vehicle frame) allowing independentmotion of the passengers away from the impact.

The present invention may use proactively fired external airbags whichfor the first time provide a means to create a “Just in Time”deceleration zone on the side of a vehicle prior to impact but notdeployed under normal operating conditions of the vehicle. Notably,Background art for external airbags that are either extended undernormal operating conditions of the vehicle or require reactivedeployment cannot function effectively, as the former will impede themaneuverability of the vehicle and the latter will not be able to createa deceleration zone in time for the impact.

The following descriptions are for embodiments of the present invention.Deviations from this description in an embodiment is possible withoutdeviating from the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following is a detailed description of some of the components ofthis embodiment. The seating arrangement of a passenger vehicle is shownin FIG. 1. The cross section of the central member of the indo-skeletalstructure (101) is fixed to the safety beam lower element (102). TheProtector Shield (106) is firmly attached to the Safety beam Upperelement/Upper Primary slide (107), which slides on the Safety beam lowerelement/lower Primary slide (102). (The terms upper and lower bed usedfor the slides to distinguish them and not representing a relativeelevation of the slides). The construction of such protector shieldswould follow that of any impact resisting body panel member of avehicle, with the usual weight strength tradeoffs. Such construction iswell disclosed in the background art. The sliding arrangement may usesingle element or multiple element direct contact low friction surfacessliding on one another, roller bearings, ball bearing structures—all ofwhich are well disclosed in the background art. The Protector Shields(106) are designed to cover the required “safety zone” (501) as noted onFIG. 11. The Safety beam upper element/upper Primary Slide (107) locksinto the Central member of the indo-skeletal structure (101) in theoperating position with locking devices (112). Such locking devices donot take any additional loads on impact, and may as a result follow theextensive background art for locking devices for example similarmechanisms to those used in automobile door locks. These locks may beactivated by the ignition key switch for additional safety while thevehicle is operational. The Protector Shield (106) has attached on theoutside a shock absorber (103), which may include external airbags(104).(the protector shield in this embodiment provides a protectiveskin on the side of the vehicle) The construction of such shockabsorbers follow the background art. Such external airbag (104) areprotected from sharp objects on impact by a Perforation Shield (105).These perforation shields protect the external airbag (and thepassenger) from sharp objects. The construction of such perforationresisting shields are well disclosed in the background art. SuchPerforation shields may be attached by conventional means to the outersurface of the airbag and retained in the normal operating positionusing techniques used for airbags both internal and external disclosedin the background art. The Air Bag (104) is deployed with distance andvelocity sensors (113) mounted on the Perforation shields (105).Distance and velocity sensors are used in other applications and theirconstruction is well disclosed in the background art. The Safety beamupper element/Upper Primary Slide (107), supports the secondaryslide/Impact decouplers (111). In this embodiment this is firmlyattached to the Safety Beam Upper element/upper Primary Slide until theimpact when it is decoupled to slide away from the impact. The Secondaryslide arrangement may use a friction based approach, or other approach,all of which are well disclosed in the background art. This embodimenthas contoured surround Passenger Seats (109) that are mounted on theSecondary slides (111). These seats have internal Airbags (114) thatdeploy on impact and may “unfurl” upwards to protect the head or upperbody as well. The construction of seat adjustment mechanisms are welldisclosed in the background art. This Figure shows the impacting objecton the left approaching the vehicle, but too distant to trigger anyaction.

In FIG. 2, the impacting object has moved to a position that can nowtrigger the distance and velocity sensors (113). These sensors triggerthe deployment of the External Airbags (104), and the shock absorbers(103). The internal airbags (114) may be triggered by conventional meansdisclosed in the prior art, explicitly or implicitly reacting toproactive or reactive impact detection. The internal air bags aredesigned to move the passengers and the passenger seats to the extentnecessary through a Motion Space to a Safe Position on primary impactdetection, and thereafter protect the protected entity—the passenger andthe seat. Thereafter as illustrated in FIG. 3, the External Airbags(104) and shock absorbers (103) deploy to provide the requireddeceleration zone for the impact. As a result on impact the energy ofimpact is partially absorbed by the External Air bag (104) and the ShockAbsorber (103) and the remaining energy transferred to the massivecomponents of the vehicle through the Protector Shield (106), the Safetybeam upper element/upper primary slide (107) and the safety beam lowerelement/lower primary slide (102) to the Central element of theIndo-skeletal frame (101) and the body of the vehicle. Notably, theSecondary slides (111) decouple and slide the passenger seats (109) withthe passengers away outside the path of the impact forces and protectedby the internal Airbag (114). The Safety beam upper element/UpperPrimary Slide (107) on the side of the vehicle away from the impact isfree to slide out with all devices mounted on it to provide a path forthe secondary slide (111) and the seats (109). In this situation it maybe seen that the Safety beam upper element/upper primary slide works asan impact-resisting beam on the side of the impact and a release andsupport mechanism on the side away from the impact. FIG. 15A illustratesthe side impact with the deployed internal and external airbags, and thedisplaced passengers away from the impact in the vehicle sustaining thelateral impact. FIG. 15B illustrates the frontal impact support for thepassenger on the right hand side. The Left hand passenger is shown inthe normal position for comparison.

FIG. 14 illustrates a horizontal cross section of the embodiment at theheight of the safety beam upper element/upper primary slides (107). Thecentral member of the indo-skeletal structure (101) is flanked by thesafety beam upper element/upper primary slides (107) abutting thecentral member, with the protector shields (106) and the shock absorbersthat include the external airbags (103,104) at the outer end of thesafety beam upper element/upper primary slides. The perforation shieldsare shown at the outer extreme of the shock absorbers and airbags. Inthis embodiment there are two sets of safety beam upper element/upperprimary slides on each side of the vehicle that can support two rows ofseats (front and rear) one on each side with its own protection with theprotection shields and shock absorbing devices.

An auxiliary slide beam structure (108) (as illustrated in FIGS. 10A,1013 and 10C) may be attached to the central member of the Indo-skeletalbeam (101) and locked into the protector shield when the vehicle isready for operation, or be attached to the protector shield and slideout with the Safety beam upper element/upper primary slide (107), andget locked to the central member of the Indo-skeletal structure (101) inthe operating position

Means for access for passengers in this embodiment as illustrated inFIGS. 5, 6, 10A, 1013 and 10C. The seat (109) and secondary slide (111),slide out on the upper Primary Slide (107) to a position that lets theseat (109) protrude from the vehicle such that the passenger may simplystand in front of the seat and sit down on the seat (109). Thereafterthe seat (109) is retracted on the Primary slide to the position asdepicted in FIG. 6, where the Safety beam upper element/upper primaryslide (107) is locked with the locking devices (112) in position foroperation of the vehicle. The slide drive mechanism may be powered usingapproaches well disclosed in the background art. The vehicle while inoperation should have the Upper Primary Slide (107) retracted andlocked. The ignition lock is used in this embodiment to ensure thispractice.

While extended, the clearance on the side of the vehicle for the EasyEjector will usually be in the range of about 20 inches to 30 inches.This could be substantially less than the clearance required for openinga conventional car door. This is particularly useful for parking inareas with limited clearance.

FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C illustrates the detail of the seat (109). Theseat (109) may be constructed with customizable multi-elements thatconform to the desired shape and provide the desired support for thepassenger. Such adjustments may be effected using conventional seatcontrol devices. In this figure the Safety Harness (119) is secured tothe sides of the contoured seat (109) between the arm rests (122). Thesafety harness (119) may be designed to protect the passenger in head-oncollisions by providing a soft barrier in close proximity to the bodybut not necessarily touching the body. This arrangement may be preferredto seat belts that do not provide the extended surface area that theharness (119) provides and as result provides greater impact resistancefor the same level of limiting forces that the body can withstand.Moreover, this arrangement may obviate the need for a front collisionairbag as the harness (119) may be high enough to support the face andneck under collision conditions. The harness may be constructed ofpliable but semi-rigid material (such as high strength nylon) to providesupport in a head on collision. A natural benefit of the arrangement ofthe harness (119) and its supports (120) is that lateral forces on theseat are also braced by the harness support (120) in the operatingposition. FIGS. 12F2 and 12G2 illustrate an embodiment of the harness.Moreover the (crush resistant) seat (109) may be constructed withlateral support elements (502) to provide crush or compressionresistance and may be supplemented with reinforcing on the sides withreinforced seat sides (503) to further protect the passenger from crushinjuries. The Seating surface (121) is illustrated in the same figure asare the arm rests (122). In conventional vehicle seat designs the doorsurface provides the only support on the external side surface which areusually limited to arm rests. This seat (109) provides surround supportfor the passenger particularly desirable on winding roads. The “Customcontoured seats” customized for each passenger may be created with amulti-element adjustable structure (the customizedmulti-elements)—manually with inserts or with computer controlledelements—that provide ergonomic passenger comfort providing wheredesired, lateral support in addition to the support that conventionalseats provide, to cradle the entire lower body in the ejector seat.These adjustable multi-elements include a left support adjustablemulti-element (504), a right support adjustable multi-element (505), aback support adjustable multi-element (506) and a bottom supportadjustable multi-element (507). Similarly child seats (123) as in FIG.12D1, may be designed to protect children. Such seats can be insertedinto the seat (109). The Safety harness may also have an attachment forproviding greater support for infants and small children.

Additional Embodiments

While the above embodiment uses a power slide drive, this embodimentdiffers in that a gravity slide drive is employed to move the slides formounting the vehicle. FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 describe this arrangement. Thisembodiment differs in the preferred embodiment above in that the SafetyBeam Lower element/Lower Primary slide (102) are pivoted at the Centralmember of the indo-skeletal structure with pivots (118). As shown inFIG. 7, this allows the lower slide to fall to a lower of two positions,that inclines the upper surface of the Safety Beam Lower Element/LowerPrimary slide (102) adequately to allow the safety beam upperelement/upper primary slide (107) to slide outwards to the loadingposition assisted by the weight of a passenger in the seat and theadditional assistance of the Spring arrangement (115). The passenger maydismount from the vehicle when the slide is fully extended as shown inFIG. 7. Each side of the vehicle has independent slides and may beoperated by passengers independently.

When the passenger dismounts from the seat the Safety beam upperelement/upper primary slide (107) in its extended position moves to thehigher of two positions about the Pivot (118) as illustrated in FIG. 8.This move inclines the Upper surface of the Safety Beam LowerElement/Lower Primary slide adequately to allow the weight of apassenger to work against the spring arrangement (115) and move theslide to the operating position. This move up of the Safety Beam LowerElement/Lower Primary Slide (102) may be effected by mechanisms welldisclosed in the background art. The Slide as depicted in FIG. 8, is nowready for a new Passengers to mount. When the passenger sits on the seat(109), the weight of the passenger works against the spring mechanism(115) to move the slide to the operating position as depicted on theleft hand side of the FIG. 9 and lock the slide in the operatingposition. The Safety beam upper element/upper primary slide may beunlocked by the passenger by depressing the Inside Door Open Button(116). Activating this button in addition allows the Safety Beam LowerElement/lower primary slide (102) to move and be locked to the loadinginclination—the lower of two positions, and the Safety beam upperelement/upper primary slide (107) is free to slide out with thepassenger. At this point the arrangement has completed a fill cycle andis in the position depicted in FIG. 7.

The above cycle represents operation of the Gravity Slide Drive whenthere is a passenger in the seat (109) when the Slide moves to and fromthe operating position as on the left of FIG. 9. When a passengerdismounts however, and the Slide arrangement needs to be retractedwithout a passenger in the seat, the weight of the passenger is nolonger available for aiding the motion of the slide to the operatingposition, and the slide must be pushed in against the action of theSpring Arrangement (115) and locked in place at the operating position.When a new Passenger wishes to mount the vehicle, he/she will press theOutside Door Open Button (117) which releases the catch that holds theSafety beam upper element/upper primary slide beam in place but does notaffect the movement of the Safety Beam Lower Element/Lower Primary Slide(102) about its pivot (118). The seat as a result slides out on theSafety beam upper element/upper primary slide assisted by the Springarrangement (115) to the position for mounting the vehicle as depictedin FIG. 7. The spring arrangement (115) is designed to be such that itprovides a force just adequate to move the Safety beam upperelement/upper primary slide out with no passenger in the seat.

Some alternative embodiments may have multiple positions for theinclinations of the safety beams from the center of the vehicle, in theloading position to accommodate the varying road inclinations that maymake a single inclination of the safety beam in the loading positioninadequate. In such an embodiment the operator will have the facility toswitch to the best loading inclination dependant on the inclination ofthe road. This will overcome some of the disadvantages of regular cardoors on steep hills. Moreover, this arrangement can also function as ashock absorbing device for the comfort of the passengers in vehiclesunder operating conditions. A possible embodiment to achieve this canhave a range of angular inclinations for the operating position, therange being set so that the transfer of the compressive load on impactthrough to the fixed body members of the vehicle or the central beam isachieved. The Safety beams are spring or shock absorber mounted in avertical plane relative to the central beam and the fixed body membersof the vehicle. When a bump in the road is encountered the safety beamspivot on the center and swing higher at the center thereby isolating thepassenger from the road.

Alternative Embodiments

In an alternative embodiment to the preferred embodiment, the presentinvention may use hinged Protector Shields (106) that lock into thePrimary Slide (107) when closed. This will allow the arrangement to workfor mounting and dismounting the vehicle with either the Primary Slidesdeactivated or non-operational as well as when they are functional. Theseats may also be mounted on rotating mechanisms or extension armsrather than a primary slide, to assist passengers in mounting anddismounting.

Another alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 6A. The“door” that contains the perforation shield (105) with distance/velocitysensors (113), the external airbags (104), the shock absorbers (103) andthe protector shields (106), hinges down on the pivot (112A) to providesupport for the safety beam upper element/upper primary slide. The innersurface of the Protector shield is designed to perform the function ofthe Safety Beam Lower Element/lower Primary slide (102). This embodimentwill be particularly useful for larger vehicles with a plurality ofseats on each side of the vehicle. These multiple seats may be mountedon separate sections of upper primary and secondary slides.

Another alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1D to 4D wherethe Shock Absorbers (103) excluding the External Air bags (104) aremounted on the inner surface of the protector shields (106). As may beseen from the drawings, in this particular embodiment, the shockabsorber excluding the external air bags are locked directly to theSafety Beam Lower Element/lower primary slide (102) in the operatingposition, although in another configuration the locks my be between theprotector shield and the lower primary slide in the operating position.

Another alternative embodiment may have a contoured safety harness witha different shape to that of the preferred embodiment. FIGS. 12A1 to12C1 illustrate an embodiment of a safety harness using a slightlydifferent geometry but performing the same function in the same way asin the preferred embodiment.

Another alternative embodiment may have an auxiliary slide behind theseat and of any convenient height. This embodiment is shown in FIGS.1C-4C. The figures illustrate the working of the current invention witha high section of the central member of the indo skeletal structurebehind the seats, but abutting the auxiliary beams in the operatingposition. As the High section of the central member (101) is behind theseats and the secondary slides (111), the seats and the secondary slidesare free to move across the vehicle under impact as shown in FIG. 4C.

Yet another alternative embodiment has an external seat profile asillustrated in FIG. 12E1. The higher rectangular external profileprovides greater protection to the passenger.

Yet another alternative embodiment has a vertical extension/“safetycage” (125) as shown in FIGS. 10A1, 10B1 and 10C1. Here the verticalextension/safety cage engages a beam across the top of the vehicle thatmay be supported by the shell structure of the vehicle (the figure showsonly half the width of the vehicle). Such a safety cage/verticalextension can provide protection in a roll over situation and alsoprovide additional compressive strength for the vehicle, and mayfunction as a fixed or retractable roll bar. In some embodiments such avertical extension “safety cage” will perform the function of the “B”pillar of the vehicle under lateral impact. Notably no “B” pillar isneeded to support rear door hinges in the present invention. Moreover,in some embodiments the beam arrangement across the top of the vehicleor other support structures on the roof section of the shell may bedesigned to be rigid on compression but telescope out with the secondaryslides under impact using appropriate logic to drive the lockingmechanisms, thereby providing a protective cage even when the seat is inthe ejected state.

Yet another embodiment, deters a roll over following side impact, byimplementing an “outrigger” arrangement having reinforced safety beamupper element/upper primary slides (with appropriate reinforcing (510)and/or secondary slides and bracing brackets (512) anchored to the fixedmembers of the vehicle that hold these slides in their extendedsubstantially horizontal position after extension under impact—such aswith reinforcing to safety beam lower elements (511)—without permittingthem to buckle under vertical forces encountered under the initial stageof a roll over situation.

The preferred embodiment has the external airbags or shock absorberstriggered on detection of an expected impact as noted. This implies thaton the far side (non-impact side) if there is possible secondary impactfrom a second object, the same mechanisms will deploy the externalairbags on the second side, thereby protecting the far side occupant inthe event of a second object hitting the vehicle soon after the first.An alternative embodiment can have distance/velocity sensors mounted inpositions on the front and back edge of the perforation shields orprotector shields to facilitate better detection of objects approachingthe vehicle at wide angles to the perpendicular direction. Yet anotheralternative embodiment to this will have both impact side and far sideexternal airbags deploy on detection of the first impact.

Another alternative embodiment has a safety harness/shield asillustrated in FIG. 12H2. This embodiment of the safety harness ismounted on spring loaded hinged supports (137) at the head supportsection of the multi element adjustable seat—similar to conventionalsupports for the headrest, and to lockable supports (138) between thearm rests or on the side bolsters of the multi element adjustable seat.The spring loading will support the weight of the harness and therebyretract the harness when unlocked. The harness includes a hinged andspring mounted shield (130) that may pivot on the lower safety harnesssupport (138), The passenger side of the shield, has on its surface animplementation of a Passive Air Cushion System that uses the pressure inone or more sacrificial chambers which under pressure transfer air toone or more micro-air cushions that protect high priority anatomicalregions. In this embodiment, the passive anatomical micro air cushion(131), derives it inflation source from the sacrificial chamber (139) atthe lower end of the shield of the safety harness, that is compressed bya much greater body mass under impact. In a frontal collision the forceof the more massive parts of the body on the sacrificial chamber willdeploy the passive anatomical micro-air cushions to protect the face andthe neck. The narrower sections of the aircushions and flow controlmechanisms if installed, will cause some visco-elastic behavior and inaddition cause air speed amplification to create faster deployment.While this mechanism activates the shield (130) may pivot down to takesome of the impact energy. The shield is shaped to the contour of thehuman body head and neck when it is forced forward as in a frontalcollision. This embodiment may in addition have multiple or variablepostion harness support anchor points on the arm rests or the sidebolsters that are part of the multi-element seat, to accommodate peopleof different proportions. Moreover this embodiment may have in additionan additional bracket that moves the anchor point of the lower safetyharness locking supports substantially forward, and provides asupplementary passive anatomical micro-air-cushion that can be mountedon the permanent micro-air-cushion on the shield, to accommodatepregnant women, and the special critical force distribution they canwithstand.

In this embodiment, the two pivoted arms swing forward under collisionforces the moment created by the shield with the body pressure againstit, and extends the upper extending arms (133) to absorb some of theshock and to provide a space for the forward movement of the upper body.The elbows (132) facilitate the relative angular movement of the upperarms and lower arms of the safety harness (133,134). They are springloaded to ensure that they support the lower parts of the harness whenunlocked to allow the entire harness to move up and away from the bodywhen unlocked without any force being applied. Under side impact thepassive anatomical head and neck micro-air-cushions deploy to protectthe head and neck under relative lateral acceleration. Notably thepassive anatomical head and neck micro-air-cushions can be activelydeployed or as in this embodiment passively deployed by a discharge ofair from sacrificial chambers between the seats or on the outer surfaceof the seats and mounted on each of the seats, so that lateral pressurewill inflate the anatomical head and neck micro-air-cushions. Thesacrificial chambers offer secondary impact protection by cushioning theseat. Notably this embodiment does not use any active airbags in thevicinity of the human body, reducing the risks associated with the highenergy external deployment devices. The adjustable head rest (136)follows conventional design but is here mounted on the safety harnesshinged mounts.

FIG. 12I2 shows the passive anatomical micro-air-cushions deployed (thesacrificial chamber has been compressed and the top region is full andready to protect the face and neck in a frontal impact. FIG. 12J2 showsthe anatomical head and neck passive micro aircushions deployed underside impact, ready to support the head and neck in a side collision.Notably this embodiment uses a new concept where the impact energy isredeployed for protecting vital parts of the impacted object which areoften embedded inside the object, using fluid transfer—in this case airtransfer. Force and velocity amplification or deamplification can beachieved with the geometry of the interconnections, the sacrificialchambers and the micro-air-cushions. The sacrificial chambers can beused for secondary impact protection as well by carefully controllingthe flow parameters. This is illustrated in FIG. 17. The approachobviates the need for active airbag technologies in the vicinity ofsensitive equipment, living organisms and indeed people.

This embodiment of the harness allows movement within the vehicle forpassengers when it is unlocked and allowed to swing up within thevehicle as shown in FIG. 16D. However, visibility is somewhat obstructedpreventing the driver from driving without locking the harness in place.

In this embodiment of the safety harness entering and leaving thevehicle are facilitated by the entire device swinging away from the bodyas shown in FIGS. 16A, B and C. The passenger simply needs to stand upto leave. To enter the passenger simply sit down and place his/her feeton the foot rest (141) and retract the slider mechanism. This embodimentalso has radar or infrared detectors as on elevator doors to detectlimbs in the way of the retracting sliding mechanism for the protectionof the passengers—passenger protection detectors (513).

FIG. 15C shows the parts of this embodiment and the adjustable armrests.

Another embodiment of the shield on the safety harness has a foldingsection at the top that can be straightened and locked in place foradults and folded down for children.

Another embodiment uses flexible netting on part of the shield surfaceto protect passengers under impact—a Net structure for Harness (514). Inthis embodiment, the shield has a frame on which the netting isdeployed—a frame for Net structure for Harness (515). The upper end ofthe frame is adequately bent forward and then downwards to ensure thatthe passenger head and neck do not strike the frame under frontalcollision. In yet another embodiment of this arrangement, the shield offlexible netting is designed for the head and neck and is normallyretracted forward, and deployed on impact by initial forces by the lowertorso of the passenger against the lower part of the safetyharness/shield.

Yet another variation of this safety harness with netting on a frame,has telescoping frame members on the sides so that the height of theframe is adjustable by retraction of the telescoping members toaccommodate children and small adults.

Another embodiment has air conditioning micro-ducts on the seatingsurfaces and the safety harness/shields, for the comfort of passengers,particularly in open vehicles.

Another alternative embodiment has the “Open” switch for the slide onthe inside of the vehicle designed the “press bar” so that the intuitivereaction of the passenger to “open the door” is harnessed. However, thiscan be deactivated when the vehicle is in motion.

Another alternative embodiment has a center console that is designed tocrush under impact as shown in FIGS. 1F-4F, thereby minimizing theejection of the far side passenger on impact.

Another alternative embodiment has the internal airbag partially filledat all times, so that in the event of no deployment of the externalairbags either because of technology failure or non installation orother reason, the passenger and seat arrangement are cushioned evenprior to further inflation of the internal airbag on deployment onimpact. Shock absorbers may supplement the operation of the internalairbags in this embodiment with partially inflated internal airbagsunder normal operating conditions.

Another alternative embodiment can have the internal airbags deployed onimpact as noted with such deployment effected by inflation by some ofthe compressed air of the external airbags on impact, thereby providing“acceleration de-amplification” for the movement of the passengers onimpact.

Yet another embodiment has proactive sensors deploying the internalairbags directly, without the installation of external airbags.

Yet another embodiment of the invention has a retaracting canopy storedin the roof of the vehicle, and attachable to the protector shield orattached components such as the side window, when desired. Whenattached, the canopy will deploy over the seats when in the extended orloading positions, thereby protecting the seat and the passenger fromrain or other snow while entering or leaving the vehicle.

Yet another embodiment has external airbags constructed using thePassive Air-Cushion System with micro chambers that are connected toeach other by restricted paths that provide visco-elastic energyabsorption in the event of some sections of the airbag being impactedwhile others are not, thereby forcing air from the compressed microchambers to the other micro chambers, each of the micro chambersfunctioning as either a sacrificial chamber or a Micro Air Cushion onimpact. This embodiment may of course have external airbags proactivelydeployed in the manner described herein, prior to impact and theirperformance as Micro Air Cushion systems. Yet another variation mayinclude one way valves between the chamber directly connected to theinflation source and each of the micro-chambers (implementable forexample with flaps against an aperture) so that inflation may beachieved rapidly, and then the Passive Air-cushion benefits realized onimpact.

Yet another embodiment uses the Passive Air-cushion system to protectpassengers from “Whip-lash” injury, by providing Micro Air-cushions inthe vicinity of the head and neck, and providing sacrificial chambersthat are compressed in the event of a rear end collision. In someembodiments the sacrificial chamber can be mounted below the seat withone face mounted to the vehicle structure and the other face mounted tothe seat of the passenger, the seat being mounted to the supportstructure to allow controlled limited rearward movement relative to itsmountings to allow compression of the sacrificial chamber by theinertial mass of the passenger and seat on impact.

Yet another embodiment utilizes multiple adjoining but separate PassiveAir-cushion systems where one such system connects the external airbags(sacrificial chambers) with internal airbags (micro Air-cushions), andanother such system connects different and distinct internal airbags(sacrificial chambers) to micro Air-cushions in the vicinity of thepassenger's body, thereby creating a cascading system of PassiveAir—cushion systems. These embodiments may of course have externalairbags proactively deployed in the manner described herein, prior toimpact and their performance as Micro Air Cushion systems.

Yet another embodiment utilizes an auxiliary brake attached to thesecondary slides in addition to the friction limited slidingarrangements of the secondary slide, to provide a further control on therate of movement of the secondary slide under side or lateral impact.

Yet another embodiment utilizes a foot safety switch attached to thefoot rest, that activates the sliding mechanism to move the slidingseats into and out of the vehicle. The foot rest in some suchembodiments may be bar that is depressed to move the slide into and outof the vehicle. These foot rests being designed to avoid ankle injuriesin the event of rear collisions sustained by the vehicle.

Yet another embodiment uses supplementary porous filling materialswithin prefilled internal airbags designed with suitable vents to changethe compression characteristics of the inside airbags under impact.

Finally another related embodiment uses the “fingers” of compressibleand deformable foam with an optional connection means pivoted at one orboth ends near the front of the seat. The foam “fingers” may also haveeither of their ends attached to sliding elements as a part of theconnection means that is attached to the child seat or the outershell/frame.

The arrangement disclosed FIGS. 8-11 will move the occupant to face awayfrom the loading—or ensconce the body thereby providing a larger surfacearea of contact with the occupant support. This results in twobenefits—first the loading on the body per unit area is reduced. Second,the rotational reorientation ensconces the body to prevent it frommoving out of the occupant support. This is often the case under severeimpact loading conditions.

The arrangement has more rigid shock absorbing elements at the front ofthe occupant support and softer shock absorbing elements at the rear ofthe occupant support. This differential resistance from the shockabsorbers under loading can also be achieved by having shock absorbersof the same material but with different cross sections as shown in thefigures. Equally, materials of dissimilar properties with equal crosssections can be used and all combinations in between.

Each of the shock absorber elements may be slidably attached at one endto allow lateral movement of the inner shell relative to the axis of theshock absorber. As this may not be practical in some embodiments thelateral distortion of the shock absorption elements must be consideredfor such lateral loadings when rigidly fixed at both ends. If a slidableattachment is chosen these elements may not in some cases be engaged fortensile loadings but only for compressive loadings. Some embodiments mayuse end stops for the shock absorbers, particularly when they arefabricated from collapsible materials such as foams and aluminum orother hex cell core materials.

Head support: Some embodiments may have a separate head rest with sidewings having a microcosm of the same architecture tuned to the mass andrelated inertial loading of the head. This will require stiffer shockabsorbers at the front of the wings and softer shock absorbers towardsthe rear of the wings on each side of the head for side impactprotection so that the head is ensconced by the support. The headsupport may be mounted o neither the inner or outer shell. IF mounted onthe inner shell the shock absorber mechanism will augment the movementinduced by the main shock absorber system acting on the inner shell.

Anchors along rear spine of inner shell to the outer shell allow lateralmovement of the inner shell but limit forward movement for supportduring front impact.

In seats the same arrangement may be used to minimize whiplash injury.Narrow section or softer shock absorber embodiments allow greatermovement at the top end for whip lash protection.

Broader section or stiffer shock absorption embodiment's providerstiffer support for rear impact support

If there is a close spacing of the shock absorption elements and indeedif they are adjoining each other with differential properties, someembodiments may not even have an inner shell as the inner surface ofthese shock absorbers will provide the surface that contacts theoccupant. There may in other embodiments be a fabric or other thinflexible covering of the inner ends of the shock absorber elements.

FIGS. 18a to 18g : FIG. 18a , shows a head rest that in this embodimenthas a harness mount also attached. This embodiment is enabled to slideup and down to accommodate a growing child. Shown in the figure are theAircushions (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,154,416, 6,609,749) thatin this embodiment are contoured to have their primary vents at thelower end near the bottom. Secondary vents may be placed anywhere on theaircushions. Placing the primary vents near the bottom evacuate thelower side of the Aircushions first because of the fluid dynamicsfollowing compression and therefore maintain more air or other fluid inthe upper sections thereby ensconcing the head i.e. having the outer/topedges of the air cushions protrude more than the center and bottom ofthe aircushions that evacuate first.

FIG. 18b , Aircushions for the head rest shown on their own. The primaryvents in this embodiment are shown at the bottom of each cushion. Inaddition there may be venturi tubes attached to the tapered sections ofthe air cushions (not shown) that could modify the airflowcharacteristics during deflation.

FIG. 18c , Shows an embodiment of an integrated headrest and shoulderguard that is able to slide up and down on the CRS thereby allowingheight adjustment of these elements as the child grows. The Harnessattachment is also on this movable element. The shoulder guard may bebraced on its side with other elements of the CRS. If the CRS has adynamic inner shell and a static or fixed outer shell, theheadrest/shoulder guard may be braced to the inner shell and therebybenefit from the dynamics of the inner shell.

The Fig shows an embodiment of Aircushions on the headrest (only oneshown but more can be added below the one shown) attached to asacrificial chamber/airbag (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,154,416,6,609,749) that provides inflow into the air cushion at the time theshoulder compresses the sacrificial chamber or airbag. This embodimenthas the air ducted to the head or top of the Aircushion so that, thatregion fills up and evacuates through the bottom of the aircushion.Notably such ducting will provide more fluid at the top of theaircushion to ensconce the head. Moreover there can be multiplesacrificial airbags each connected to one or more micro air cushions.While it is possible to connect multiple sacrificial airbags to each aircushion such embodiments may not be that common. Either or both of theAircushions and the sacrificial airbag may be partially or fully filledwith porous materials.

FIG. 18d , shows the single set of sacrificial airbags on the shouldersupport and the corresponding aircushion on the head rest. The positionof the air duct may be seen clearly from this figure. Notably however,other embodiments may have the air duct connected to any part of theaircushion.

FIG. 18e , shows another embodiment of the headrest/shoulder guard withair cushions and sacrificial airbags. This embodiment shows a singlesacrificial airbag on each side feeding two air cushions. Here again theair duct leads to the top of the air cushions. Such embodiments can havemultiple aircushions feeding from the same sacrificial airbags.

FIG. 18f shows the same aircushion/sacrificial airbag system of FIG.6-5. The air ducts lead to the top of the aircushions and theaircushions vent at their bottom. There can of course be secondary ventsanywhere on the air cushions for controlling the evacuation of the microaircushions further.

FIG. 18g , shows a method for construction of the air cushions and/orsacrificial airbags. The fig shows the aircushions/airbags filledpartially or fully with a porous material that forms the shape. Theaircushions/airbags are sandwiched between layers that form the wallsand a formed die in the shape of the intervening spaces is used tocompress the walls in the intervening spaces to weld together the wallmaterial that is itself weld able with the resulting pressure or hatthat is applied at the time of compression, or is treated with anadhesive to provide adhesion between the walls at the time ofcompression.

Another related approach is to simply sandwich a layer of the porousmaterial, wherein the porous material has special characteristics thatallow welding of the two wall layers to itself under the weld conditionsthat may be heat and/or pressure. It may also be treated or coated withan adhesive to provide this function, the advantage of this secondapproach is that there is no need for the cut outs of the porousmaterial before assembly. All the forming information is in the dieshape. Notably the pair of dies will ensure that the resultingairbag/air cushion will take the shape of the headrest and/or theshoulder guard so that it can be inserted and fixed to these memberseasily. Finally for the Air ducts that may not require porous materialsa tube may be inserted as a former to keep the shape of the walls aheadof compression. Such tubes (possibly with porous walls) may also be usedin the body of the airbags/air cushions to modify the direction fluidflow.

Yet another embodiment utilizes pressure memory capable materials on thesurface of the seats or passenger supports so that surround seatscontour to the exact shape of the body for further comfort of passengersand also better support under collision conditions.

Yet another embodiment has anatomical micro-aircushions on the left andright edges of the support surface of the safety shield connected toselected sacrificial chambers along the bottom edge of said supportsurface. This will provide additional support for the passenger in aside impact, by assisting in preventing body movement outside thecontoured seat under collision conditions.

Yet another embodiment has anatomical micro-aircushions on the outeredges of each of the contoured seats, particularly to cover a part ofthe front of the shoulders the legs and torso in the event of a sidecollision. These anatomical air-cushions use sacrificial chambers on thesides of the seats.

Yet another embodiment has multiple pairs of customizable multi elementseats (passenger support mechanisms or PSMs) on each of one or morelateral axes such as in a bus. In this embodiment, the pair of passengersupport mechanisms nearest the center of the vehicle constitute theinnermost pair and the pair that is closest to the outer sides of thevehicle constitute the outermost pair. The outermost pair of PSMs mayhave an protector shield and internal and external airbags mounted on itfor the protection of passengers and disclosed elsewhere in thisinvention. In this embodiment, each of these PSMS are supported byimpact decoupler/secondary slides that are normally fixed to safety beamupper elements that are in turn slidably mounted on one of the safetybeam upper elements. The safety beam upper elements are normally lockedto the safety beam lower elements in the operating position andtherefore do not normally slide in the operating position. However foregress and ingress the safety beam upper elements may slide on thesafety beam lower elements to provide egress and ingress access to theoccupants. In the event of a lateral impact, the impactdecoupler/secondary slides decouple from the safety beam upper elementsand allow each of the PSMs on their respective secondary slides to slideon the safety beam upper element. It is also possible the safety beamlower element on the side away from the impact to guide the safety beamupper elements, if they need to traverse the center of the vehicle. Thedesign of fixed elements in the vehicle is such that these fixedelements do not obstruct the motion of the PSMs and the attachedcomponents as disclosed above during collision conditions. Thisembodiment is there fore similar to embodiments with one PSM on eachside of the vehicle on a lateral axis except that the multiple PSMs areprotected.

Yet another embodiment has safety beam upper element constructed as aplurality of slidably attached elements, such that each of the elementshave a limited sliding range relative to the adjoining elements, andwherein the first of these elements is fixedly attached to the safetybeam upper element and the last of these sliding elements is fixedlyattached to the second face of the safety beam upper element. Thisarrangement is much like the slide support for a filing drawer andprovides greater movement for the passenger support mechanism inparticular for egress and ingress.

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS & SCOPE

Thus it will become apparent that the present invention presented,provides a new paradigm for implementing key safety features andproviding utility in accessing passenger vehicles and comfort intravelling in such vehicles. While the above description provides manyspecificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scopeof the present invention, but rather as an exemplification of thepreferred, an additional and an alternative embodiment thereof. Manyother variations are possible.

The present invention provides an arrangement that diverts the impactenergy in lateral or side impacts away from the passengers to theremaining mass of the vehicle thereby protecting the passengers butdecelerating the impacting object with the remaining mass of thevehicle. Moreover the arrangement synergistically provides a means forutilitarian easy access to the vehicle for passengers and drivers alikeand allows the installation of multi-element surround contoured seatsfor the comfort and protection of passengers. Furthermore, thearrangement allows the installation of a new and unique safety harnessthat may obviate the need for safety belts and front impact airbags forprotection in head-on collisions. This arrangement differs sharply fromthe Background art in that it does not simply offer to the impactingbody a reinforced rigid shell where the passenger is treated as part ofthis integral unit, but rather provides selective and differentialtreatment of the mass of the passengers and driver of the vehiclevis-a-vis the remaining mass of the vehicle. Furthermore the presentinvention differs sharply from the Background art in that the resultingstructure synergistically permits the installation of contouredmulti-element surround seats that would not be implementable without theslide arrangements on either side of the vehicle in the presentinvention.

The present invention provides a gravity slide drive for my arrangementfor which there is no counterpart in the Background art. This allowsfurther Utility and weight and energy saving in implementing the aboveelements of the present invention.

The present invention includes External side Airbags that differ sharplyfrom the Background art in that for the first time they proactivelycreate a “Just in Time” deceleration zone for the lateral or side impactwith internal and/or external side airbags while not remaining in anextended position under normal operating conditions of the vehicle.

The present invention describes an indo-skeletal structure of thevehicle body that permits the energy transfer from the lateral or sideimpact through compressive members to the body of the vehicle. Unlikethe Background art this indo-skeletal structure is designed to transferenergy to the body of the vehicle without transferring it to thepassengers and driver of the vehicle. The passengers are targeted forprotection with “Safety zones”.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A child seat for use in a vehicleconfigured to protect an occupant under impact conditions, said childseat comprising: a headrest comprising pillow pads on a left side and aright side; a safety harness configured to support a child during afrontal and oblique impacts to the vehicle, said safety harnesscomprising a left part and a right part, each having an upper end;wherein the headrest and upper ends of the safety harness are connectedtogether to form a vertically adjustable upper support element of thechild seat; wherein said left part and said right part of the harnessare separable and detachably attached to one another such that they areconfigured to be laterally separable when detached to assist egress andingress of the occupant; said pillow pads being constructed withaircushions, the pillow pads being configured to ensconce the head uponcontact; said aircushions: comprise a flexible skin; being prefilledwith air and containing therein comprising a flexible skin comprisingcompressible and/or deformable material configured to make saidaircushion stiffer at a front or a top of the aircushions and softertowards a back or bottom of the aircushions to create a differentialresistance under loading conditions such that the air cushions areconfigured to differentially deform to and support and ensconce a headof the occupant substantially at a front edge of said pillow pads uponcontact; and comprise vents placed substantially at one or both of theback and the bottom of the air cushions with regard, to the position andorientation of the headrest of the child seat, whereby upon inertialloading by the head in a side impact to the vehicle, the pressure buildup on the aircushion is higher at the front of the aircushion and lowerwhere air can vent at the back or bottom of the air cushion, therebyensconcing the head within the aircushion; and wherein said seat isforward facing, removably attached to a vehicle, and configured tosupport a child.
 2. The child seat for use in a vehicle configured toprotect an occupant under impact conditions as in claim 1, wherein saidshock absorbing elements comprise compressible foam elements whereinsaid foam elements have connections there between and wherein pressuredifferentials between the interior of the foam elements and said vents,and a viscous path of air to the vents determine the compressibility ofthe foam shock absorbers, and the differential compressing of said shockabsorbers configured to ensconce the head of the occupant.
 3. The childseat for use in a vehicle configured to protect an occupant under impactconditions as in claim 1, wherein said shock absorbing elements comprisehex-cell core material.
 4. The child seat for use in a vehicleconfigured to protect an occupant under impact conditions as in claim 1,wherein said vents of said aircushions are adapted to exhaust more airat one or both of: substantially the rear and substantially the bottomof the air cushion with regard to the orientation of the occupant, thansubstantially the front and substantially the top of the air cushionwith regard to the orientation of the occupant, thereby configured toensconce the head of the occupant during impact.
 5. The child seat foruse in a vehicle configured to protect an occupant under impactconditions as in claim 4, wherein said vents of said aircushions arelocated at one or both of: substantially the rear and substantially thebottom of the air cushion with regard to the orientation of theoccupant, thereby configured to ensconce the head of the occupant duringimpact.
 6. The child seat for use in a vehicle configured to protect anoccupant under impact conditions as in claim 1, further comprising asacrificial chamber that is attached to the adjustable upper element,and wherein ducts with spaced apart ends transfer air flow to theaircushions on the pillow pads.
 7. The child seat for use in a vehicleconfigured to protect an occupant under impact conditions as in claim 6,wherein the ducts are configured to attach to the aircushions at one orboth of substantially the front and the top of said aircushion ratherthan substantially at the back and bottom of the air cushion.
 8. Thechild seat as in claim 6, wherein the sacrificial chamber is locatedbelow the headrest and configured to compress upon engagement with anoccupant's shoulder upon lateral impact to the vehicle.